(It's been a while since I've made a blog post and I still have some Japan ones backlogged but I wanted to write this one while it's still fresh and relevant.)
Sonic 4: Episode 1 was released a little while ago and it's been receiving mixed reactions. Some say that it is truly a step in the right direction for Sonic while others say that the game's issues prevent it from being a redeeming outing for the hedgehog. I downloaded it and have been playing it on my Wii and I wanted to do a little design analysis of it compared to the original games that debuted on the Sega Genesis. I don't mean for this to be a game review, although it may be used as one. I hope to compare and contrast some of the elements from Sonic 1, 2, 3, and Knuckles to those in Sonic 4. I will also try to offer some changes that might make Sonic 4 more of the "New Super Mario Bros. for Sonic" that fans have been clamoring for.
A Return to Sonic's Roots
Sega had a great concept when coming up with Sonic 4: making a new Sonic game with classic gameplay elements and throwbacks to the old games. Fans (me included) thought this was great; finally, a Sonic game that's won't be terrible! Of course, there was the Sonic Cycle in the back of our minds, telling us that this is just another game that will be overhyped and that will never live up to our expectations. Some fans embraced and accepted the Sonic Cycle, saying that no Sonic game that Sega puts out will ever be good. Ever. Well, Sega became aware of the Sonic Cycle and were determined to break it. Sonic Colors, a new 3D Sonic adventure, will be out in November and may break the cycle (or so they say).
But was Sonic 4 able to finally do away with the Sonic Cycle? Yes and no, in my opinion. While Sonic 4 was able to do away with useless game mechanics, superfluous new characters, and silly storylines, it didn't quite fully capture the essence of the original Genesis games. Sega did an excellent job reimagining classic enemies and level design, but they missed with the physics and overall feel of playing a classic Sonic game. Sonic doesn't seem to move as he would have in the original games, and it's confusing how they could have neglected this key part of the game. Some of the level art seems overly gaudy as well, and some of the music, while having a familiar sound, doesn't have the same magic that the Genesis tunes did (maybe it's the lack of assistance from Michael Jackson?). Nevertheless, Sonic 4 is an enjoyable game that fans and newcomers can both have fun with; it's just not the Sonic game that it could have been.
Who is the Target Audience?
A common game design question that is asked is "Who is the target audience? Who are we making this game for?" Sega had a few different options for this question. They could have taken the route Capcom did with Mega Man 9 & 10 and restricted the target audience to the hardcore players and fans. This would have been the best option if they had wished to please only the hardcore by using sprites and 8-bit music, but they would have neglected the rest of the gaming audience. Instead, Sega took the "safer" route (from a marketing standpoint) and made Sonic 4 accessible for all players. This is evident by the 3D graphics and the stage selection screen, which lets you choose specific stages as well as special stages.
If Sega really wanted to make it a true classic, they could have opted for 2D sprites over 3D art, and made chiptunes instead of newer music that borrows 8-bit elements. They could have also eliminated the stage selection screen all together and just made the level progression linear like in the Genesis games. (They could have also gotten rid of saving if they were super hardcore.) It's understandable that today's games should be made for today's audience rather than yesteryear's, but it seems like fans would want something more geared towards the past than the present. In my opinion, these aesthetic choices can be overlooked by focusing on the main gameplay of the game.
The Mechanics Matter
So what about the gameplay? The basic elements take off from where Sonic 3 (& Knuckles) left off. Sonic can run (obviously), jump, and spin dash. He has also gained the Homing Attack that was introduced in Sonic 3D Blast, which is a rather decent addition. The controls are simple and familiar, which helps fans feel at home and allows new players to jump right in. The main issue, however, (which has been noted by many reviewers and players) is Sonic's physics in the game. There are several quirky problems which seem to stem from the apparent lack of inertia. Sonic will stop immediately if the player is not holding down a directional, especially during a spin dash or while Sonic is in the air. This flies in the face of hardcore players' expectations; Sonic is supposed to be somewhat "slippery" and glide over slopes easily instead of stopping dead. There are also some issues with running fast vs. spinning that just don't feel right. These issues can be ignored to an extent, and it is possible to enjoy the game despite these flaws. Classic players will be fairly annoyed with these inconsistencies to the Sonic gameplay of the 90's.
In terms of level design, Sega managed to deliver. The level layouts are very reminiscent of the classics and don't merely focus on pure speed (some people complain about the excessive placement of speed boosters, but I found them to be sparse enough to not be a problem). Multiple paths and hidden routes and items are a definite plus that are consistent with the Genesis style. I even found that the "cheap" enemy placement in some levels (where you are almost guaranteed to be hit and lose all your rings) to be somewhat reminiscent, albeit annoying. Some areas seemed dependent on the incorrect physics, which could be tweaked if the physics were changed. One instance was the mine car track in the Mad Gear Zone, where at one point you would fall to your death if you weren't holding right on the D-Pad. If the mine car is moving on it's own, how should I know to hold a directional? Where's the inertia? Even with these minor flaws, the layout of the levels is definitely something that was done right.
Sega, notorious for adding too many mechanics into Sonic games (Sword fighting? In my Sonic game?), managed to keep the mechanics fairly basic in Sonic 4. Sonic himself was only given the additional Homing Attack, and the levels maintained a good level of unique mechanics. Some of the level mechanisms are borrowed from the old games, like the teleporting tunnels from the Metropolis Zone and the slot machines from Casino Night, but others are brand new, like the swinging vines in Splash Hill. Zip-lines and running-powered gears are reimagined level mechanics that make Sonic 4 new but traditional. Of course, loops and springs are a main aspect of the level design, and rings are placed just where you would expect them.
One design that I don't agree with is the special stages. Sega decided to reinvent the special stage from Sonic 1, this time allowing the player to control the rotation of the stage directly. Sonic 1's special stage was the worst of the three, in my opinion; it didn't give the player enough control and seemed more luck-based since they couldn't really directly control Sonic. In Sonic 2 and Sonic 3/Knuckles the outcome of a special stage was directly effected by the players actions and they could directly control Sonic: the player needed to collect enough rings in Sonic 2's stage and all the blue spheres in Sonic 3's stage to be awarded the Chaos Emerald. Sonic 4 combined these two ways of attaining a gem by allowing the player to control a maze similar to a Sonic 1 special stage and unlocking doors when the player collected enough rings. I feel that a special stage where the player directly controls Sonic to complete a task to get the Chaos Emerald would have been more effective, rather than have him bounce around a maze, but that's just my opinion.
The Nostalgia Factor
In a game targeted at all players, how to you please the hardcore? Obviously, the core of the game should be easily recognizable and familiar to hardcore players while being accessible to newcomers. Sega was successful in making a game that everyone could play and enjoy, but the faulty physics detract from a hardcore's complete enjoyment of the game. Another way to please longtime fans is to insert little nuggets of nostalgia into that game. Sega was pretty successful with this aspect of the game, but they could have done much more. I'm fairly sure that all the enemies were borrowed from the Genesis era, with a few new twists. The level themes are almost direct copies of old Zones: Splash Hill is the obligatory Green/Emerald Hill; Casino Street is the popular Casino/Carnival Night; Lost Labyrinth is pretty much the Labyrinth Zone from Sonic 1; Mad Gear is the Metropolis Zone from Sonic 2. Some of the sound effects are directly taken from the classics, most notably the 1-Up sound effect from Sonic 3 and the sound played when getting a Continue. I would have liked to hear the "warp" sound when entering and leaving a special stage, but that's the only one I could think of that was missing. As mentioned earlier, the music sounds like it belongs, but doesn't quite capture what the original themes had. They pull from old songs and have familiar sounding parts but they aren't as lively as some of the music from, say, Sonic 3.
One of the major ways Sega could have improved the nostalgia factor would have been to make the entire game 2D with sprites instead of 3D models. Capcom was successful in doing so with Mega Man 9 and 10 and I think Sega would have experienced similar success by following suit with Sonic 4. Like I said before, this may have shrunk the audience, but the hardcore gamers who did buy it would have thought more highly of it. It is really a debate over sales numbers and the impact of the game on classic fans, and Sega seems to have chosen the former. The impact of this decision may be small, but it is still a noticeable decision among fans. It may seem illogical to make such a large art decision for a small subset of the audience, but it's possibly that Sonic 4 could have been received with more open arms if it had been 16-bit.
Anyone who has played Sonic 1/2/3/Knuckles to an extent will be able to pick out the nostalgia elements from Sonic 4, but the hardcore fans will feel uneasy with this new outing because of the faults mentioned previously. The artifacts of the present that exist in Sonic 4 convince fans that Sonic will never reclaim his previous glory that he experienced in the 90's. But why does he have to? Why can't Sonic evolve to fit into today's game industry as Mario has? I believe that he can, although it will take some convincing of the fans from Sega.
Where to Go From Here
Since Sonic 4 is episodic, Sega has a chance to learn from the fans' response to Episode 1 and address the issues in Episode 2. There isn't a final count of how many episodes there will be, but hopefully Sega will be able to distill the gameplay with each iteration into a pure Sonic formula that can be used in future games to finally redeem Sonic. As long as Sega listens to the fans and uses the iterative process with each new Sonic game, Sonic will be able to rise through the ranks to a place where he once stood proud.
(That's it for now. I may edit this later if I think of anything else, or if there are some glaring issues.)
